The Talent Hunt
by shade of life
Summary: The school arranges a talent hunt, and everyone has to perform. songfics and insanity ahead! *Asuka's Performance added*
1. And so it Begins

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Evangelion, Gainax does.

The Swedish Royal House proudly presents:

The Talent Hunt 

Chapter 1:  And so it begins.

Thursday

Fourth period 

Tokyo-3 Municipal High School

This was one of the few classes of the week that Shinji actually enjoyed (besides watching the girls during PE of course), Music class.

He had always been interested in music. He loved to listen to it, play it, and even watch it. It was his only escape from the everyday gloom, and quite possibly the one thing that had kept him sane this long.

The teacher, Mr. Yoshida, was a lean man in his mid thirties that always reminded Shinji of Kaji. They both had that same twinkle in their eyes and, according to the rumors, the same appetite for women.   

"Ok kids, I have a special announcement." He addressed the class.

"For some time now I have been trying to come up with an assignment to finish off the semester with," this was no surprise, he had been taking up suggestions for the last two weeks, but they had all been too expensive or too extreme for his taste.

"I have decided that we will organize a talent hunt." He continued, "Does anyone want to sign up right away?" 

The room fell deathly silent, no one dared even move, except for the Tanaka sisters (who always sucked up to the teachers anyway) who were waving their hands excitedly in the air.

"Riiight, kinda expected that." He sighed.

Then he looked out over the room with a wicked smile and leaned back in his chair. 

"It doesn't matter any way, this assignment is mandatory, and you wont get a passing grade without it."

There was a moment of shock, and then the shouting begun.

"You can't be serious!" Touji exclaimed.

"For once the stooge is right!" Asuka interjected, "This is below my dignity, I have graduated from collage for god's sake!"

"Show some respect you guys, were still in class you know!" Hikari shouted to try and make herself heard over the pandemonium.

"Silence!" Mr. Yoshida shouted and slammed his hand down on his desk.

"You will all participate or you will all be failed, make a choice." He announced as he glared out over the class.

He kept his glare for a moment and then folded his arms across his chest and continued with a milder tone.

"I am not an unreasonable man, there will be prices waiting for the top three performers, the first price being a fully paid weekend at the Ritz, for two." He now wore his usual mischievous smile as he let the idea sink in, and soon enough the students started to see the potential the situation held, especially the boys.

"Ok, but I still think it's a bad idea." Touji said as he sat down, but Shinji noticed that he kept glancing in Hikari's direction, and he could almost hear the gears in his friend's head starting to turn.

"The rules are simple." He continued, "Each one of you will imitate an artist and perform one song. The judges will concentrate on the acting, so you wont have to sound that good, as long as you act and look like your artist you have a shoot at first place. You just have to participate to get your grades, but enthusiasm is always appreciated." With that he rose from the desk and gathered his things. "I will let you use the rest of this class to think about who you want to imitate, but you must submit your choice by the end of the week, you have until Friday next week to practice your performance. And now, dismissed."

With that he left the room, and the students immediately broke out in a loud chatter.

***

"Can you believe that old geezer? He can't force us to do this, we have rights you know!" Asuka ranted while flailing her hands angrily in the air for emphasis. She had been going at it the entire walk home and Shinji had been trying his best to tune her out since the beginning. The problem was that she seemed to require some form of verbal response with regular intervals, but that didn't require more than the occasional grunt or "right" when she stopped to catch her breath.

"Hey! Are you listening Shinji!?" she suddenly exclaimed in his direction, he immediately realized he hadn't said anything for the last five minutes and mentally slapped himself.

"Yeah yeah, evil teacher, I understand." He blurted out, and when he realized what he had said the damage was already done. 

"You haven't listened to a word I've said you stupid jerk!" and with that she stormed of swearing incoherently in German.

Shinji just continued on his way home with the sad realization that she would be impossible to deal with for at least a week now. 

***

Touji was lying on his bed, dreaming of how a weekend at the Ritz together with Hikari would be like. He wasn't a complete fool, regardless of what people thought, he knew she had a certain interest in him, and he would lie if he said he wasn't a bit interested himself, and a weekend at a expensive hotel held some interesting possibilities. But how the hell was he supposed to win that price? He sung worse than a sick cow and wasn't that much of a music fan anyway.

Suddenly the phone rang. 

"Whazzap Touji my man!" Kensuke's overly cheerful voice greeted him from the other end.

"Could be better." He responded glumly.

"Do I detect a hint of heartache old friend? Not to worry, I have what you need." Kensuke continued on with that same manic cheerfulness, "I have devised a way to win that talent hunt so you can put the moves on a certain class representative." 

Touji bolted upright, "Now you're starting to make some sense for a change, do go on!"

"First I must warn you, if you repeat this to anyone, I will let the entire school know about that little mishap during that camping trip last year." 

Touji blanched, that would force him to quit school and move to Indochina. "Of course I can keep my mouth shut. Now spill!"

"Ok, its a little known fact that I took singing lessons for a brief period a couple of years back. My parents decided that it would be a nice pastime, and I thought it would impress the girls. Anyway, what I propose is this: we team up, I handle most of the singing and you handle the acting bit."

"But if we win and I take Hikari on that weekend, what are you getting out of it?" Touji asked with a bit of suspicion.

"Simple, you will owe me a favor. There's this girl I like, but I don't really know how to talk to girls…"

"And I do, is that what you're saying? You want me to help you land a girl?"

"Basically, yeah." Kensuke answered.

Touji thought about it for a second, and then he decided.

"No problem, you didn't have to bribe me you know. Who is the girl anyway?"

When Kensuke told him his eyes widened in shock.

"We better win that price Ken, that's all I'm saying."

***

Hikari was lying on her bed, dreaming of how a weekend at the Ritz together with Touji would be like. She had seen the looks he had given her in class, and she had a hunch of what he was planning.

_"But how is he going to win? He can't sing worth a damn." _She thought and immediately grew depressed.

_"Lets face it, the only way I can go on that weekend is if I win it myself."_ Suddenly she had it, the obvious answer. She was not half bad at singing and she probably could pull of the actingwithout to much trouble, she could win that price and invite Touji. But that was against the rules, girls don't ask boys out on dates, especially not nice girls like her. 

She thought about it for a moment, and reached a decision.

"Screw the rules!" she exclaimed and immediately started to search her CD collection for something fitting.

The kids at school had always referred her to as a "Goody two shoes", and frankly she was getting very sick of it. You'd think that she would be into Boy Bands and suchlike as the rest of her friends, and while in school she pretended to, but the music Hikari listened to at home was somewhat…different. Now she was going to show everybody just how bad she could be, plus the added shock might score her some extra points as well.

After a couple of seconds she found what she was looking for, and as she reached over to the phone she found herself grinning, almost manically.

"Hello Mr. Yoshida? It's Hikari from 2A; I just wanted to tell you that I have decided who I want to be in the talent hunt. And I also need a favor, I need a man to sing backing vocals…"

***

At the other side of town, Rei Ayanami was also browsing through her (although a lot smaller) CD collection. She had stashed both it and her stereo in the back of her closet to keep them out of the way, it was a small apartment after all. Most people would be surprised to know that Rei was actually a huge music lover. All her spare time was spent at the local music shop; she was on a first name basis with the entire staff, but she only owned a few carefully selected discs that she played constantly when alone. After a few minutes she found the disc she was looking for and a small smile graced her lips, there were few things she found pleasurable in life, but music was one of them.

She was really going to enjoy this.                  

***

Shinji and Asuka were standing in the opposite corners of the elevator. The air was still frosty from the little incident earlier, and the rest of the walk home had been in silence.  As they reached their floor, Asuka pushed her way past Shinji and entered the apartment with a distinct purpose: talk her way out of that stupid talent hunt.

"Misato, were home!" she hollered as she removed her shoes at the door.

Misato lay sprawled across the couch; remote in one hand and the ever present can of beer in the other. This was one of her few off-days and she had vowed to make the most of it, hence watching soap operas and drink beer all day (that's the good life people!).

 "Hi Asuka. How was school?" the major answered, without taking her eyes of the TV.

She had to be cautious if she was to talk her way out of that stupid contest. but the fact that

Misato was in off mode would surely help a lot, since only her most basic brain functions were operational.

"Yeah about that, there's this ting…"

"You're not getting out of the talent hunt Asuka." The inert form on the couch interrupted.

"WHAT! WHY THE HELL NOT!?" she roared,  this was just to much.

"Mainly because its necessary to get that grade, and Mr. Yoshida already cleared it with us over three weeks ago." Misato answered calmly, witch only seemed to infuriate Asuka even more. Muttering curses under her breath she stormed of into the kitchen, Shinji had watched the entire exchange and let out the breath he had been holding. That had gone better than expected.

"Hey Shinji, have you figured out who you're going to be yet?" Misato asked as she slowly and lazily got up from the couch.

"I haven't thought about it that much, I cant sing or anything…"

"I don't know about that, you sound pretty good in the shower." Misato interrupted with a grin, which promptly made him blush furiously.

"Hah, you must be joking, Pen-pen sings better than this idiot." Asuka interjected as she returned from the kitchen.

"Anyway, you could always play your cello, that should work." Misato glared at Asuka, which she completely ignored.

"That's just boooring! Couldn't you at least pick someone from this century?"

"I don't know; I don't listen to that much modern music."

Asuka rolled her eyes, "I forgot who I was talking to, you should wake up and smell the 21'st century Third Child." And with that she walked to her room to contemplate the injustices of the world.

***

Shinji was sitting in his room, sulking, those comments from Asuka had hurt. Normally he wouldn't care, she was just wired that way, but he felt a bit touchy today. It wasn't his fault that people found classical music dull; he liked it just fine that way because it always seemed to match his mood. He did listen to some modern music, but mostly instrumental songs, so that wasn't an option.

It was then he came to think of the box under the bed.

A couple of years ago, before his taste shifted, he had been into a more aggressive type of music. At the time he had been very angry with his father, the people he lived with and the world in general, but after a year or so he had mellowed out and become the depressed guy he was today. Nowadays he didn't really care for that kind of music but he still had nice collection stashed under the bed. And he would really like to shut Asuka up once and for all.

***

The aforementioned redhead was, ironically, also cooped up in her room entertaining thoughts along that same line. She was of course louder than Shinji, but still.

"Why the hell do I have to be in that stupid talent hunt?" she muttered and glared at her favorite crack in the ceiling.

She hated to admit it but she wasn't much of a singer, and everyone in class knew it (courtesy of another one of Mr. Yoshida's little assignments a couple of months ago). So if she wanted to win this stupid thing, and she did, she would have to focus on the acting, and if possible distract the judges from the singing part. But how the hell would she do that? What could she do that would be distracting enough? At that moment she happened to look at the mirror situated over her desk, and then it hit her. She knew she was beautiful, and she was actually flattered by all the love letters she got from the boys (on some level), but she would rather die than show it. If this worked out like she planned she would drive the boys crazy and most likely win the whole thing. Men would always be perverts and this time it would work to her advantage. And besides, a weekend at the Ritz with Kaji, now there's an interesting thought.

***

The following two weeks were hectic for all the students of class 2A. Great deals of money were spent on costumes, wigs and other necessary articles, and in this chase the Children had an advantage, with their rather large salaries and all. Through some silent agreement everyone decided to keep their selections secret, they figured it would be more exciting that way. The only one who knew everything was Mr. Yoshida, and he had been shocked by some of the choices that had been made. Especially the Children and Miss Horaki, who he had agreed to help with the backing vocals, had surprised him greatly. At least it would be something to remember, and even this early he knew it was going to be a success. 

Time seemed to fly by and suddenly the night of the talent hunt had arrived. 

This was going to be a show to remember.

Next: Shinji's Performance/ Getting Even.

*************

Wow, this one developed a life of it's own and ran away from me. I intended it to be a short introduction of the characters and establish their motivation, but it became a bit larger than I thought. I have tried my best too keep the characters IC and I believe it went pretty well. Shinji might have a bit more spine than normal, but the others worked out fine. A note on Asuka: all girls like compliments, they might not show it but they all want it. Anyway, let me tell you how this fic will continue. The following chapters will be shorter and describe the performances of each main character. And, as you might have guessed, they will be songfics. There might even be some WAFF ahead, depending on whom I choose to be the winner. So be afraid, be very afraid.  


	2. Shinji's Performance

**Disclaimer: **See previous chapter.

**Note: **_Italics _are the lyrics of the song.

The Swedish Royal House proudly presents:

The Talent Hunt 

Chapter 2: Shinji's Performance/ Getting Even.

D-day

19:00 PM

Tokyo-3 Municipal High School, Gymnasium

The gymnasium was filled to the brim with chattering students and their equally loud parents. 

At the far wall a large stage had been erected and fitted with the traditional coloured spotlights, strobes and smoke machines. Backstage Shinji was getting into his costume and trying desperately to remember the words of the song (and trying to keep his lunch down). He knew all of his friends, not to mention Misato, would be out in the audience, so screwing up was not an option. For the hundredth time he wondered how he had gotten himself into this mess. He knew it had something to do with Asuka, but he was too terrified for rational thought. At that moment Mr. Yoshida came into the room, looking all happy and cheerful, for a brief irrational moment Shinji wanted to strangle the man.

"Ok Shinji, I will be announcing you in a few moments and I have just one thing to say." A wide grin spread over his face, "Go get them kid." With that he walked onto the stage and started to address the audience, all of this was lost to Shinji who could only hear his raging heartbeat. Suddenly he heard his name blasting from the speakers, him to the stage, it was time.

"I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away." He chanted to himself while adjusting the wig on his head, and shakily walked out onto the darkened stage.

***

Asuka was standing in the audience together with Misato, Touji, Rei and Kensuke. She wouldn't have to get ready for her performance yet, and she was actually quite curious to see Shinji's appearance. She had tried to figure it out during an entire week, but to no avail, and she had been rather busy preparing for her own act. Suddenly Mr. Yoshida walked onto the stage and grabbed the microphone. 

"Good evening everybody and welcome to our first annual talent hunt." He was met with cheers and applause from the audience, and on a given signal the stage was plunged into darkness and all other lights dimmed.

 "Without any further ado I would like to present our first contestant: Shinji Ikari as Jonathan Davis!" 

"SAY WHAT!" Misato exclaimed with a shocked cry.

"What? Who is Jonathan Davis?" Asuka asked, without getting an answer from the dazed major.

At that moment the sound of a distorted guitar screeched from the speakers, and she turned her head towards the stage with a curious frown. 

Then the world exploded.

The bass hit like a sledgehammer to the chest, and the strobes turned the hall into a flashing chaos of white-hot light, and there in the middle was Shinji, headbanging. He was clad completely in black, the dreadlocks on his head was flailing around madly as he thrashed around with the microphone in hand, and if her eyes wasn't deceiving her he was wearing a ankle long skirt with a large silver cross on the front. 

And the he started to sing.

"This time taking it away,  
I've got a problem,   
with me, getting in the way.   
My final sign.  
So I take my face and bash it into a mirror,  
I won't have to see the pain bleed, bleed."  
  


It was more of an enraged scream than actual singing; she had never heard Shinji so full of anger, she had suspected that he had something hidden deep inside, but this! It was almost frightening. 

  
"This state is elevating.   
As the hurt turns into hating.  
Anticipating all the fucked up feelings again."  
  
"The hurt inside is fading.   
This shits gone way to far.   
All this time I've been waiting,   
now I cannot grieve anymore.  
For what's inside awaking.   
My god I'm not a whore.  
You've taken everything,   
and now I cannot give anymore."  
  


Asuka scanned the faces of her friends; everyone was staring at Shinji with large, unbelieving eyes and their mouths hanging wide open. Except for Rei, who merely raised an eyebrow, which was just her version of staring slack-jawed. By now a couple of the schools rockers had made their way to the front, where they were happily trying to inflict concussions on themselves.   

  
"My minds done with this,  
Ok I got a question,  
Can I throw it all away?   
Take back what's mine?  
So I take my time driving humbly down the line. 

Each cut goes up to the vain bleed, bleed."  
  
"This state is elevating.   
As the hurt turns into hating.   
Anticipating all the fucked up feelings again."  
  
"The hurt inside is fading.   
This shits gone way to far.   
All this time I've been waiting,   
now I cannot grieve anymore.  
For what's in side awaking.   
My god I'm not a whore.  
You've taken everything,   
and now I can not give anymore."  
  


Suddenly the music slowed, and the lights were dimmed, leaving only Shinji illuminated. And as he continued, almost whispering, Asuka could see an absolutely evil grin starting to spread over his face, and the sight sent shivers down her spine.

  
"I'm here to stay, bring me down.  
I'm here to stay, bring me down.

I'm here to stay, bring me down.

I'm here to stay, bring me down."

Suddenly the music blasted back to full force, and Shinji's voice rose into a scream again.

  
"Gonna Bring me / you down.

Gonna Bring me / you down.

Gonna Bring me / you down.

Gonna Bring me / you down.

Gonna Bring me / you down."

  
"This state is elevating.  
As the hurt turns into hating.   
Anticipating all the fucked up feelings again."  
  
"The hurt inside is fading.   
This shits gone way to far.   
All this time I've been waiting,   
now I cannot grieve anymore.  
For what's in side awaking.   
My god I'm not a whore.  
You've taken everything,   
and now I cannot give anymore."  
  
"Give anymore. 

Give anymore. 

Give anymore. 

Give anymore."

The music faded into nothingness, and the stage was once again plunged into darkness.

Asuka and the others looked at each other for a moment, and then they spoke:

"HOLY SHIT!!"

***

Shinji was lying on his back in the dressing room, wheezing. This was the most exhausting thing he had ever done, both mentally and physically; piloting EVA's was a walk in the park by comparison.

"Never again." He managed to he whispered, his voice hoarse from all the yelling.

It had taken almost everything he had to emulate Jonathan's voice, and now he probably wouldn't be able to speak in weeks. But still, he had seen the faces on Asuka and the others and that had made it all worthwhile. With a tremendous effort he got up and walked out of the room to join his friends in the audience.

Next: Rei's Performance/ Broken Silence.

******************

I didn't have that many ideas on how to write this chapter, so I apologise for the lack of details and will try to make it up to you in the next one. Personally I have great hopes for that one. For those out there that doesn't know, Jonathan Davis is the singer of a band called "KoRn", and this song is titled "Here to Stay" from the album "Untouchables". I highly recommend listening to the song while reading the fic; it adds a whole new dimension to the experience.

From now on the chapters might come out a bit irregularly, I'm going on a vacation of sorts, and I don't know if I will have a computer handy. But as they say: "Good things come to he who waits."


	3. Rei's Performance

**Disclaimer: **See chapter one.

**Note: **_Italics _are the lyrics of the song.

The Swedish Royal House proudly presents:

The Talent Hunt 

Chapter 3: Rei's Performance/ Broken Silence.

D-day

19:30 PM

Tokyo-3 Municipal High School, Gymnasium.

Shinji was making his way through the audience towards his friends. He was still in his Jonathan Davis costume, which earned him a few curious glances and to his infinite embarrassment, a couple of standing ovations from the local Headbangers.

 Another one of his classmates had taken the stage in a homemade Elvis costume and was mercilessly butchering "Blue Hawaii", one less competitor to worry about.  

If he remembered correctly Rei would be next, and he was extremely curious about her performance. What kind of music did she like anyway? Once more he realised just how little he knew about the pale girl, and he probably knew her better than anyone else in school.

When he finally found his friends he got some rather odd reactions.

"Shinji my man, that was totally awesome!" Touji exclaimed.

"Never knew you had it in you." Kensuke admitted while patting him proudly on the back.

"You know, I saw KoRn live once back in collage. Yeah those were the days." Misato mused, lost in her own little world, as she laid an affectionate arm around his shoulders.

Asuka however, said nothing. She merely looked at Shinji with a curious frown, as if seeing him for the first time.

Frankly it was making him very nervous.

"That was an…interesting…performance Ikari." A soft voice said.

Shinji turned and found himself staring into a pair of crimson eyes.

"Oh, hi Rei, did you think so?" he felt himself starting to blush without any apparent reason. He always seemed to embarrass himself in front of Rei.

"Yes, I do." She answered, "I must go and make some preparations now."

And with that she vanished into the crowd.

"You know, I'm curious about that one. I mean its REI for God's sake! What kind of music does she listen to?  Touji ranted.

Shinji could do nothing but agree.

***

Rei was sitting in front of a mirror making some last minute adjustments to her make-up.

 At that moment Mr. Yoshida walked in, he still had problems adjusting to her new look, it was the wig, he decided.

"So Rei, are you nervous?" He asked the pale girl.

"Yes." She answered simply, she looked like the same old Rei to him, but what the hell did he know.

At that moment the Elvis-imitator was booed of the stage, smiling for no apparent reason.

"I think they liked me, my mom said I was really good. What do you think Mr. Yoshida?"

"Top of the pops kid. Now go and join your friends."

_"Poor kid, he is still in denial. There aught to be a law to protect innocent music from people like him."_ He thought as the kid scampered of towards the audience.

"Ok Rei, I will announce you now. You just wait for your cue ok." He said and walked onto the stage.

***

Hikari had been delayed at home. The washer had exploded, spreading water and unmentionables everywhere, and she had been forced to mop it all up, and afterwards she had to change her clothes and annoy her family until they had gotten themselves into the car. She wouldn't have to get ready for at least an hour, but she had already missed Shinji's performance and would soon miss Reis (I mean, it's REI for crying out loud!) if they didn't pick up the pace. 

"Come on dad! Run the red lights!" she hollered as they sped down the road at speeds that would even make Misato impressed.

"TRUCK!" Kodama shouted as they narrowly missed a FedEx truck coming out from a side street.

"For the love of God dad! Slow down! Nozomi pleaded.

"I would like to, but your sister is giving me that look again, and I fear that she will hurt me if I slow down." He answered while glancing nervously in Hikari's direction.

"Don't get me wrong dad, I love you and all, but if we miss Rei you'll get dog food for a month, get it?" Hikari threatened with a dangerous look on her face. After all, she was responsible for the cooking and thus controlled the entire house.

"WHAT?!" Up until now Kodama had been praying silently to the God of all traffic victims to spare her and her family. But even she had heard of the fabled "Ice-Queen of 2A".   

"You mean Rei 'The Popsicle' Ayanami is performing? Step on it dad!" she shouted. 

They arrived at the school with two whole minutes to spare. 

 The three sisters ran towards the school while their father was desperately searching for a parking space, as they entered they were surprised by the large turn up and started to elbow their way towards the front. After a short while they found Asuka standing together with the rest of the gang.

"Hey Asuka. Did we miss Rei?" Hikari asked her friend.

"No, Wondergirl is up any second now. " she replied, "Why the hell are you so interested?" 

"Are you kidding? I wouldn't miss it for the world!" Hikari looked at Asuka's scowling face, "Don't tell me you're not curious!"

"HAH! Like I would ever care about what that stupid doll is doing!" she replied and stuck her nose in the air.

In fact she was ready to explode with curiosity. Finally Wondergirl was showing something resembling an actual personality, and Asuka was dying to know what was hiding beneath that cool, emotionless exterior. 

"By the way, who did Shinji do?" Hikari asked.

"Some guy called Jonathan Davies." Asuka answered with a somewhat odd expression on her face.

"I almost touched him that one time." Misato commented, still lost somewhere on memory lane, "Five security guards had to drag me of the stage." She added proudly.

Before Hikari could ask what that was all about, Mr. Yoshida walked onto the stage and took place behind the mike.

"Ok folks, here is what you have all been waiting for, I know I have. Rei Ayanami as Liv Kristine!"  With that he left the stage, and immediately it started to fill up with smoke, and was lit by a couple of white spotlights, giving an impression of early morning mist. 

_"Now THAT was a surprise! I would never have guessed that she was into that kind of stuff." _ Hikari Thought as a soft, slow tune started to flow over the audience.

And there she was. Slowly emerging from the mist like some form of spirit. She was dressed in a white corset, richly covered with white embroideries, with sleeves of white lace covering her arms and a long white skirt that hugged her hips tightly. The whole ensemble accentuated her body in a way that made the guys drool, and some of the girls too. On her head she wore a long, light blonde wig that cascaded down her shoulders in soft waves. Her crimson eyes, together with the red lipstick, added the perfect touch of color in the sea of white.

The audience was completely speechless as she slowly walked over to the mike, and started to sing.

_"She's the month of June_

_A summer's tune_

_The wind that blows  
The flower that grows"_  
  


Her voice was soft, barely more than a whisper, but still reached the entire room. This time there was no cheering, no booing; every one just listened under complete silence.

  
_"She'll forever be_

_So proud and free_

_A firefly_

_The sun in the sky"  
  
_

Shinji, who had been sent to get drinks, found himself staring dumbly at the stage, unable to move a muscle.

_  
"And forever she'll dance  
It's the summer_

_Of her days and forever  
Her heart is yours"_

_"In the heart of Juliet  
One love she won't forget  
She longs to give  
Forever live  
Her soul has such desire  
She needs to love, admire  
A tide to the shore_

Searching for more"  
  


As the song reached the chorus Hikari started to calculate her odds. She had this album herself and as far as she could see, Rei was an almost perfect likeness._ "This is going to be very though to beat." _She thought and continued to enjoy the song

  
_"No vale of tears  
No haunting fears_

_Another birth  
She's joy on earth"  
  
"Dancing like a child_

_So pure and wild_

_A virgin rose  
She longs to be close"_

_"My God, it's beautiful."_ Asuka thought, and immediately pushed the thought away; she wasn't going to start liking Rei because of a stupid song. But still, it was very beautiful.

_"And forever she'll dance  
It's the summer_

_Of her days and forever  
Her heart is yours"_

_"In the heart of Juliet  
One love she won't forget  
She longs to give  
Forever live  
Her soul has such desire  
She needs to love, admire  
A tide to the shore_

_Searching for more"_

As the solo started to play, Hikari snuck away from the group and headed toward the dressing room. She needed to have a talk with Rei, and she had a feeling she was going to do a lot of that in the future.

_"In the heart of Juliet  
One love she won't forget  
She longs to give  
Forever live  
Her soul has such desire  
She needs to love, admire  
A tide to the shore_

Searching for more" 

_"In the heart of Juliet  
One love she won't forget  
She longs to give  
Forever live  
Her soul has such desire  
She needs to love, admire  
A tide to the shore_

Searching for more" 

As the final notes faded away there was a moment of silence, and then there was a massive roar of applause, as Rei quietly left the stage.

As she entered the dressing room she found Hikari waiting for her.

"Tell me Rei, do you only listen to Liv's solo album or do you like Theatre of Tragedy as well?" she asked with a little smile.

This caught Rei of guard. No one had ever asked her about this before; she had always assumed that she was the only one who listened to that kind of music in school. For a moment she just stared at the other girl.

"Well?" Hikari pressed.

"Yes, I do." Rei answered in her regular monotone.

"Before or after Musique?" 

"Before of course." Rei answered, growing more confused by the minute.

"Good." Hikari said and walked up to Rei, and put her arm around the pale girls shoulders, "Rei, you and I are going to have a serious talk." She said as she led a very confused Rei out to the audience.

***

"That was just…Wow!" Touji remarked, and the two other Stooges could only nod in agreement.

Misato was still totally shell-shocked and couldn't give her opinion on the matter, so the boys turned to Asuka, prepared to hear some condescending rant about how stupid Rei was.

"Well, at least she can do something right." Asuka commented.

After a second she realised the boys were staring at her with huge, unbelieving eyes.

"What!?" she asked angrily without getting an answer. 

"Oh screw you guys!" she shouted and stormed off to look for Hikari.

"That was an actual compliment… to Rei." Touji whispered, unable to believe what his ears were telling him.

"I'm going to go check if the world is ending yet." Kensuke added and walked to the door to get some fresh air.

Next: Hikari's Performance/ Revealing the Truth.

*************************

Liv Kristine is the lead singer in the band "Theatre of Tragedy". The song "In the Heart of Juliet" however, is taken from her solo album "Deus ex Machina". I once again recommend listening to the song while you read this chapter. Personally I thought it fitted perfectly for Rei, and I dare you to say otherwise.

I most apologise for the time it took to get this chapter out, I was visiting a cousin of mine for a couple of weeks, but when I actually started to write I had no problems with nailing this together.

On a different note: I need some suggestions on what artist Asuka is going to imitate, I have a few ideas but I would like some different opinions on the subject.

E-mail me at: shade_or_bust@hotmail.com with your suggestions.


	4. Hikari's Performance

**Disclaimer: **See chapter 1.

**Author's Notes: **_Italics _are the lyrics of the song. Yoshidas lyrics are **Bold**

The Swedish Royal House proudly presents:

The Talent Hunt 

Chapter 4: Hikari's Performance/ Revealing the Truth.

D-day

19:45 PM

Tokyo.3 Municipal High School, Gymnasium.

"_Now where the hell did she go!?" _Asuka thought as she scanned the room.

She had been in search of Hikari for the last five minutes and was about ready to blow a gasket. This was not fair! First Shinji had actually frightened her with that KoRn act and then Rei comes along, crushing all opposition with that…THING!. She desperately tried to find something bad about the girls' performance, but she could only think about how absolutely beautiful it had been. Asuka was NOT a happy camper, and she was going to find Hikari and tell her so.

Suddenly she heard Hikari's voice from a small utility closet, and by the sound of it she was having an animated discussion with someone Asuka couldn't quite hear. She sneaked closer to the door and peeked inside, and almost had a heart attack. The other person was Rei, and she was obviously pissed.

"How the hell can you say that 'Velvet Darkness they Fear' is better than 'Aegis!?'"  Hikari exclaimed while flailing her hands in the air for emphasis. "That's the best album Theatre have ever made!"

"Because it is. 'Cassandra' was a passable song but the rest of the album was clearly substandard." Rei replied calmly but with an edge to her voice that Asuka had never heard before.

Suddenly Hikari noticed Asuka at the door and called out to her. As she entered the closet she noticed that Rei started to blush and adverted her eyes to the floorboards, almost as if she had been caught doing something forbidden.

"What's up?" Hikari asked.

"Well…eh, you see…there's ummh, oh yeah, you're up in fifteen minutes, you should go and get ready. " that was as good an excuse as any.

"CRAP, You're right." She exclaimed and bolted for the door. " We'll continue this discussion later Ayanami." She added with a hard gaze in Rei's direction as she left the closet.

"Bring it on." She answered softly and rose from her seat.

As she walked out of the closet she noticed Asuka staring at her. "What?" she asked.

"Trying to steal my friends now are you!?" Asuka screeched and poked Rei in the chest.

"No, at least not deliberately." She answered and turned to leave but was stopped by Asuka's hand on her arm.

"What were you talking about then?" Asuka was having trouble keeping herself angry, the entire situation was just so alien she had no idea what to make of it all.

"Danish Goth Rock." Rei answered the shell-shocked Asuka and was, in the next moment, absorbed by the milling crowd.

***

Touji was getting nervous. He wouldn't have to get on the stage for at least an hour, but this wasn't what was bothering him. Hikari would be up next.

All the girls in the class was convinced that she was going to do some pop princess or suchlike, but when he had asked her sisters they had just laughed and walked away. Something was happening, and it was making him very worried.

He spotted Kensuke moving toward the group, he still looked a bit pale but his little excursion had evidently calmed him down a bit.

"Well, the parking lot looks like the Fifth Circle of Hell but I didn't see any horsemen so I guess we're safe for now." He said as he grabbed the soda that Shinji handed him.

"They'll probably not come around until later, but I'll give your regards to War when I see him." Touji answered sourly.

"Ohh, look who forget to take his chill-pill. Besides, War is a woman."  Kensuke answered laughingly.

"HEY, I resent that!" Misato hollered over the music. The Tanaka sisters, who were doing a fairly decent imitation of a Russian group called T.A.T.U, had entered the stage and were driving the boys mad with their little school uniforms.

"Anyway, what's up with you?" Kensuke asked the sulking Touji.

"Nothing, I'm just a bit on edge. Hikari is up to something and I waaa…SHHIIITTT!" he trailed off into an almost pained moan and stared over Kensuke's shoulder.

Kensuke turned around with a puzzled frown, and immediately commenced drooling. Rei was walking toward the group; she was still in her costume.

Shinji patted the hyperventilating Kensuke on the shoulder.

"You might want to go for another walk." He suggested.

Kensuke merely nodded and started walking toward the door with jerky motions.

***

"I just want you to now that I am NOT happy about this Miss Horaki." Mr. Yoshida remarked.

They were in the dressing room putting their costumes on, and for some reason he seemed to dislike her choice of clothing.

"What do you mean? This is no worse then Rei's outfit." Hikari asked a bit puzzled.

"You're missing the point, you look fine. I, on the other hand, look like an idiot." He retorted.

"You agreed to sing backup for me, that means that you wear the costume." She answered in a very matter-of-fact voice.

"I know, I know, I just wanted to point out that I'm doing this under extreme protest." 

He cast one more disapproving look into the mirror, "I'm going to be the laughingstock of the entire faculty." He muttered under his breath.

Outside the music stopped and the Tanaka sisters entered the room, and stopped dead in their tracks.

"What's the matter? Never seen a guy with a beard before?" Mr. Yoshida asked grumpily.

They just stood there staring unbelievingly.

"Ok, move along people, nothing to see here." He shooed the girls out of the room.

As he turned towards the stage he let out a heavy sigh and wondered how in the world he was going to live this down.

***

Kensuke had returned from his walk but still refused to even look at Rei, Shinji and Touji also kept their eyes glued on the stage, as it seemed that Miss. Ayanami's wardrobe threatened to steal their attention from the upcoming performance. And besides, Asuka was standing behind Rei in full Deathglare mode. It was then, as their resolve started to fail and their gazes wander back to Rei, which they were given something else to stare at. Mr Yoshida. 

"I guess you're all wondering about the outfit." He stated with a bit of sarcasm. 

He was wearing black, baggy clothes, which made him look a bit shabby. The thing that really caught your eye though, was the long black wig that reached at least halfway down his back. That and the beard, it was of course black and had been twisted into two separate, chest-long ponytails (seriously, I'm not kidding). He knew he had to work fast; soon people would recover from the shock and would most likely start to laugh.

"In this next performance I have agreed to sing backup, hence the ridiculous costume, so without further delay: Hikari Horaki as…Tarja Turunen."

"Oh my." Rei whispered as the stage darkened and the smoke machines did their thing.

"What? You know who that is?" Asuka asked without getting an answer from the pale girl who was watching the stage intently.

From the darkened stage you could suddenly hear the sound a piano, immediately followed by Hikari's voice singing softly.

_"Ever felt away with me._

_Just once that all I need._

_Entwined in finding you one day._

_Ever felt away without me._

_My love, it lies so deep._

_Ever dream of me." _

The stage exploded with sound and light. It was a classic rock sound with a synthesizer on top that sounded like a whole symphony orchestra. All the lights on the stage was flashing in time with the music, making it impossible to see anything but a dark, humanoid shape on the stage. Then noise and light died down, leaving only the drums, keyboard and a soft light over the stage making Hikari visible for the first time. She was wearing a pair of tight, black leather pants and a black top of thick vinyl. On top of that she wore a robe like garment made of transparent, black nylon. Her hair hung freely had had been slightly extended and given black highlights. She also had a look in her eyes that none of her friends had seen before, she looked fulfilled, content and absolutely wicked, all at the same time. They were seeing the real Hikari for the first time, and she loved it.

_"Would you do it with me._

_Heal the scars and change the stars._

_Would you do it for me._

_Turn loose the heaven within."_

_"I'd take you away._

_Castaway on a lonely day._

_Bosom for a teary cheek._

_My song can but borrow your grace."_

The entire audience was stunned, and Touji was no exception.

_"Hikari is a rock chick!!" _he thought over and over as he watched the girl on stage. Then suddenly her voice rose, it almost sounded like she was singing opera. The only description that seemed to fit was…epic.

_"Ever felt away with me._

_Just once that all I need._

_Entwined in finding you one day._

_Ever felt away without me._

_My love, it lies so deep._

_Ever dream of me."_

**"Dream of me." **

Mr. Yoshida had walked up beside Hikari and delivered the last line just as the synthesizer returned with the orchestra. But after only a couple of seconds it faded away and once again.

_"Come out, come out wherever you are._

_So lost in your sea._

_Give in, give in for my touch._

_For my_ _taste, for my lust."_

_"Ever felt away with me._

_Just once that all I need._

_Entwined in finding you one day._

_Ever felt away without me._

_My love, it lies so deep._

_Ever dream of me."_

_"Your beauty cascaded on me._

_In this white night fantasy." _

 **"Dream of me."**

As the song slipped into the solo Asuka glanced over at Rei. She was standing with her eyes closed, her head nodding in time with Hikari's song. Not the music, only the song.

Then everything except the keyboard silenced, and Hikari continued in her regular voice.

_"Ever felt away with me._

_Just once that all I need._

_Entwined in finding you one day._

_Ever felt away without me._

_My love, it lies so deep._

_Ever dream of me."_

At this point the music returned, and Mr. Yoshida's voice joined Hikari's in perfect harmony as they sung the last part together. The music started to play at least twice as fast as before as Hikari suddenly got down to one knee, closed her eyes and held her left hand out towards the audience in a sort of begging motion. Touji suddenly had the distinct feeling that she was reaching towards him.

**_"Ever felt away with me._**

**_Just once that all I need._**

**_Entwined in finding you one day._**

**_Ever felt away without me._**

**_My love, it lies so deep._**

**_Ever dream of me."_**

****

"Dream about me" 

****

**_"Ever felt away with me._**

**_Just once that all I need._**

**_Entwined in finding you one day._**

**_Ever felt away without me._**

**_My love, it lies so deep._**

**_Ever dream of me."_**

Abruptly the music silenced and Hikari got to her feet, bowed and left the stage with the shouts and applause of the audience ringing in her ears.

"Do you think they sell beer here Shinji?" Misato asked a bit tiredly.

Shinji gave her a curious glance, "Not likely. Why do you ask?"

"I need to calm my nerves, I can't handle this many surprises in one night." She answered and started walking toward the exit. She was certain she had a six-pack in the trunk.

***

Hikari resisted the urge to giggle. She had totally killed them out there; just their faces had been worth the trouble. 

"I'm getting to old for this." Mr. Yoshida sighed and sat down heavily.

"What are you talking about? You were great!" Hikari exclaimed, "And don't worry I'm not going to do the same song for the encore when I've won."

She bounded out into the audience before giving him a chance to answerer, now she only had one more thing to take care of. She had to see if Touji had noticed the hint she gave him.  

Next: Asuka's Performance/ Opening up.

*********************

I am so sorry for the delay but I had some things that needed taking care of. By the way this chapter was an absolute bitch to write, so you better well appreciate it or serious men with baseball bats will be knocking on your door.

Anyway, Tarja Turunen is the lead singer in the Finnish band "Nightwish" (they also happen to be one of my absolute favourite bands). This song is titled "Ever Dream" from the album "Century Child". Check it out or the aforementioned men with bats will come looking for you.

On a different note, I still am having trouble with Asuka so don't be surprised if this will take a while. I appreciate all the suggestions I have received, especially the one about Britney Spears, but I still need help so keep them coming.

Shade_or_bust@hotmail.com     


	5. Asuka's Performance

**Disclaimer: **See previous chapter.

**Author's Notes: **I feel that I must apologise for my extended absence. It's been like six months since the last update, but in my defence I have been very busy with job hunting and whatnot. But I'm back and ready to work baby!! 

After this chapter you are either going to love me or hate me, but that's just the way it goes. Anyway, on with the show!! And as always,_ Italics_ are the lyrics of the song.

The Swedish Royal House proudly presents:

The Talent Hunt                                                                                                                                                             

Chapter 5: Asuka's Performance/ Opening Up.

D-Day

19:50 PM

Tokyo-3 Municipal High School, Parking Lot.                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Misato had been sitting on the hood of her car for the last fifteen minutes trying to calm down, hence the half empty six-pack in her lap, when Asuka joined her.

"This evening sure got interesting." She remarked as she collapsed beside the woman on the hood.

"No kidding, it took me half a pack just to stop twitching." Her guardian answered as she downed the rest of the can and deposited it on the ground. 

"You're next right?" she asked as she popped her fourth brew of the evening.

"Yeah, but I don't have to get ready for another ten minutes." The girl answered absentmindedly.

"Are you going to bring it up or should I?" Misato asked with a small smile.

"I don't know anyone nearly as well as I thought!" Asuka suddenly exclaimed, "I mean, Hikari in leather pants, HIKARI for Christ's sake!"

"Amen to that." Misato saluted and chugged down half her beer, _"She's being awfully chatty tonight, she must be really off balance." _She thought while glancing at the raving girl.

"And did you see Shinji!? He was like a friggin' madman up there!"

"I thought he was pretty good." Misato answered a little defensively, but the girl was to caught up in her rant to notice.

"And Rei! It was like a…you know, a damn…ehh, you know."  Misato watched in amusement as the girl tried to find words strong enough to describe Rei's little act.

"I understand completely." She interrupted and emptied her beer with a satisfied little sigh, "Anyways, are you still going to do…what's-her-face, you know, that blonde who became a porn star a couple of years ago?"

" Britney? Nope, I figured she wasn't really my style so I found me a better one." Asuka answered, "I got to go now, I still have to steal the show and crush the competition before I can go home." She added with an evil smirk and jumped of the hood.

"You go girl!" Misato added with a small smile.

Suddenly they were interrupted by the sound of a car horn being honked repeatedly.

"For the love of God, let me park! My daughter will murder me if I miss her performance!" a man, that Asuka identified as Hikari's father, shouted as he desperately tried to manoeuvre into a parking slot that had been vacated, together with about three other desperate fathers.  

"You and me both pal! Wait for your turn dammit!" another man shouted back.

Asuka just shrugged and continued toward the entrance.

***

Shinji took great pride in the fact that he didn't stare. For the last ten minutes he had been blushing furiously as Hikari sat next to him on a bleacher talking with Touji, but at least he didn't stare. Touji on the other hand looked traumatized. His eyes were glazed over and he only spoke in single syllables when she asked him something. After a while she turned over to Shinji.

"Shinji could you take Touji outside for some air? At first I thought it was cute but now I'm really starting to worry about him."

"Uhm, sure." He answered and rose to his feat, still refusing to look directly at her.

"Come on Touji, let's take a walk." He said and started to pull the dazed boy towards the exit.

"Walk." Touji murmured and followed automatically.

As he opened the door he spotted Asuka walking toward them across the parking lot.

"Where are you two going?" she asked as Shinji stepped aside to let her enter, "And what's wrong with jock-boy over there?"

"Well, Hikari asked me to take him for a walk, he got a bit overwhelmed back there and could use some air." He answered and leaned his friend against the wall.

"Air." Touji agreed a bit groggily.

"I don't know, he looks normal to me." Asuka observed, "Don't take to long, if you miss my act I will kick your ass into next week." She threatened and entered the building without giving Shinji a chance to retort. 

Shinji shrugged and turned back to his friend, "Ok walk it off Touji, that's the spirit." He encouraged the boy as he led him around in wide circles. As he started on the third lap he noticed that Misato had left her seat on the hood and was coming their way. For a second she just observed the boys with a wide smile on her face; then she took Touji's other arm and helped Shinji to haul him around the parking lot.

"Let me guess." She asked, "Hikari's pants?"

"Pants!" Touji groaned loudly. 

Shinji merely nodded, "He seems better now, shall we go inside?"

"Yeah probably, just keep him away from Hikari or we'll have to do this all over again." She answered as they started to drag Touji, who still hadn't regained full control of his legs towards the door.   

***

Hikari watched as Shinji dragged the zombie-like Touji towards the exit and sighed, this had not turned out the way she had expected. Her plan had been very simple, sweep Touji off his feet with her performance, win the contest and return from the weekend as boyfriend and girlfriend, and get rid of her goody two shoes label in the process. The first part of the plan had perhaps worked a little too well; Touji had been so shocked he more or less slipped into a vegetative state. I mean, how the hell do you hold a conversation with a radish? She sighed again and buried her head in her hands; she would have to rethink her entire strategy.

She was so caught up in her personal misery that she didn't notice Rei walking up to her with a quizzical expression on her face.

"Is something the matter Miss Horaki?" she asked, startling Hikari out of her reverie.

"Oh hi Rei." She answered, "I'm ok, something just kinda backfired on me."

"Are you referring to your plan to seduce Mr. Suzuhara?" she asked unemotionally.

Hikari blushed furiously, "I was NOT!" she exclaimed, but a few stubborn images of herself, Touji and a bowl of whipped cream kept flashing through her head no matter how hard she tried to repress them. 

"But you are trying to initiate a relationship with him are you not?"

"That is a completely different matter." Hikari answered sullenly, "How did you know?"

"It was obvious." The girl answered.

"Was there something you wanted to talk about Rei?" Hikari hurried to change the subject before Rei could come with another embarrassing question.

"Yes, would you like to resume our earlier conversation?"

_"Back to the trenches." _ Hikari thought with a smile, "Ok Rei but on one condition, from now on you have to call me Hikari, ok?"

"Agreed…Hikari." Rei answered and sat down beside Hikari, who could have sworn she saw a small smile grazing the pale girls lips.

***

Asuka had also been forced to change her plans. Initially she were going to show off her curves to distract the horny little judges from her singing, but her stupid pride wouldn't allow it so she scrapped that idea. Then there was this song she had stumbled upon that just wouldn't get out of her head, so she decided to do that instead. It wasn't that difficult a song and after a few rehearsals she had discovered that she didn't sound quite as terrible as she had first thought. She had always taken great pains to make sure her feelings stayed private, so she didn't exactly know why she had decided to use this particular song, for some reason it just seemed fitting. Now she was sitting here before a mirror trying to adjust her makeup and fussing over the fact that she had to dye her hair brown   

"Ohhhh, I hate this stupid hair dye, it better wash out or I'm going to strangle that woman at L'Oreal with my bare hands." She grumbled while staring disapprovingly at her reflection.    

"Oh calm down, I think you look great, but I have always been a bit partial to brunettes." Mr. Yoshida commented from his seat, he had finally gotten out of that terrible costume and was feeling like his old self again.

  "I have no problem with brunettes, I just think that dyeing a hair as beautiful as mine is a complete abomination before the god of fashion." She replied with her usual snooty tone.

"Anyway, she's almost eight, I should go announce you now." He rose and headed for the stage door, "Good luck."

 "Hah, Asuka Langley Sohryu doesn't need any luck!" she exclaimed with a finger pointing skyward in a declamatory fashion. 

"Forget I said anything." Yoshida sighed and entered the stage.

***

"I'm serious Shinji, you really look good in dreads." Hikari told the blushing Shinji.

"Ehh, you think so?" he asked while he fidgeted with his wig.

"Yeah, you look cool, and a bit…dangerous." She added with a wicked smirk that just made Shinji blush harder. Suddenly she became serious again, "Anyway, how is Touji doing?" she asked a bit concerned and glanced over to were the boy in question was talking with Kensuke.

"He's coping, he was just a bit shocked.  I think you overdid it." Shinji answered with a small smile. Hikari just stared at him for a moment.

"Does EVERYONE know what I'm trying to do!!" she exclaimed.

"Well it was pretty obvious, with the hand thing and all." Shinji said with a small shrug.

"Touji didn't seem to notice." She added with a sad sigh.

"Touji isn't as dense as people think Hikari. Trust me, he knows." Before she could ask him how he could be so sure Mr. Yoshida walked onto the stage.

"Ok folks, it's time for our next performance." He smiled at the crowd with a glint of mischief in his eyes, "Please give it up for Asuka Langley Sohryu as…Avril Lavigne."

"That sounds familiar." Hikari mused as soft sound of a guitar flowed from the speakers.

The stage lit up and a spotlight focused on Asuka. Her hair had been dyed brown and she had removed the A-10 connectors she normally wore, letting the hair flow freely down her shoulders. She was wearing a white tank top, black baggy pants and a green and red striped tie around her neck. She calmly grabbed the mike and started to sing. 

"Sometimes I get so weird  
I even freak myself out  
I laugh myself to sleep  
It's my lullaby"

Shinji was astonished. She wasn't half bad; for once she was actually hitting notes instead of sounding like a Moose in heat. 

  
"Sometimes I drive so fast  
Just to feel the danger  
I wanna scream  
It makes me feel alive"  
  


Asuka closed her eyes as she threw herself into the chorus. 

  
"Is it enough to love?  
Is it enough to breathe?  
Somebody rip my heart out  
And leave me here to bleed  
Is it enough to die?  
Somebody save my life  
I'd rather be anything but ordinary please"  
  


"I know this song." Rei thought to herself, "It is a interesting choice for pilot Sohryu."

  
"To walk within the lines  
Would make my life so boring  
I want to know that I   
Have been to the extreme  
So knock me off my feet  
Come on now give it to me  
Anything to make me feel alive"

Hikari gently nodded in time with the music, feeling very pleased with herself. Finally the pieces were falling into place in the great puzzle that was Asuka, she had obviously chosen this song to send a specific message to anyone who would understand. Hikari smiled as she watched her best friend pour her heart out, without anyone knowing it.    
  
"Is it enough to love?  
Is it enough to breathe?  
Somebody rip my heart out  
And leave me here to bleed  
Is it enough to die?  
Somebody save my life  
I'd rather be anything but ordinary please  
I'd rather be anything but ordinary please."  
  
"Let down your defences  
Use no common sense  
If you look you will see   
that this world is a beautiful   
accident turbulent succulent   
opulent permanent, no way  
I wanna taste it   
Don't wanna waste it away"

Shinji wasn't as attentive as Hikari, but he still suspected that there was something a lot more to this performance than met the eye. First of all this wasn't really Asuka's kind of music, and then there was that nagging feeling that he was missing something. He just did his best to shake it of and enjoy the show.

  
"Sometimes I get so weird  
I even freak myself out  
I laugh my self to sleep  
It's my lullaby"  
  
"Is it enough?  
Is it enough?  
Is it enough to breathe?  
Somebody rip my heart out  
And leave me here to bleed  
Is it enough to die?  
Somebody save my life  
I'd rather be anything but ordinary please"  
  
"Is it enough?  
Is it enough to die?  
Somebody save my life  
I'd rather be anything but ordinary please  
I'd rather be anything but ordinary please."

As the last chords faded out Asuka took a bow as the crowd showered her with applause, and then she quietly left the stage.

***

Asuka felt …thoughtful. This was so unlike her, and yet she felt oddly relived. She would definitely have to think about this later when she got home, but as it was now she had other things to focus on. She gave herself a mental shrug and headed out of the room to find her friends.

Next: Touji and Kensuke's Performance/ Counterstrike.

*********************

The song was, of course, "Anything but Ordinary" by Avril Lavigne, Taken from the album "Let Go". I must once again apologise for the time it took to get this chapter out, and I must admit that this was without a doubt the hardest work of fiction I have written to date. Asuka's reasons for using this song are pretty much identical to mine. I have gotten tons of great suggestions on songs to use but alas, I had to refuse most of them. Then one day I was standing in the shower (some of my best ideas have come to me in the shower) and had my recently purchased copy of "Let Go" playing in the background, when this song came on and bang, it just fitted. Everything just fell into place (love it when that happens), and two days later I had whipped this chapter together. 

Some of you may hate this decision, but you have to admit that it fit in quite nicely.

/Shade 


End file.
